Cam Newton - The whole story

This is really long, but very interesting. There is too much smoke for at least some of this not to be true

Way back in 1992-93, rumors and allegations surrounding AU's football program are swirling around Head Coach Pat Dye, Asst. Coach Wayne Hall, and Board of Trustee Member Bobby Lowder claiming lump sums of cash as well as monthly payments to highly touted recruits were being made by the Coaching Staff and Board of Trustee members. Bobby Lowder is AU BoT member since 1988, and Chairman of AU Finance Committee. Also the largest booster with AU Athletics. Current Trustee position expires Late 2011. Was chairman and CEO of Colonial BancGroup, a $25Billion Nat’l. Bank headquartered in Montgomery Al. until it’s failure in Mid-Late August, 2009. Lowder is often thought of as the Wizard behind the Curtain, manipulating the Ala. Political Machine as well as the AU BoT and AD as he feels. Up until Colonial’s failure and takeover and liquidation by the Feds, Lowder was labeled as the most powerful man in Alabama. Also the most disliked individual within AU, outside of his inner circle. Supposedly, 50-60 boosters would each contribute $5,000 to facilitate the payments. Hall collected the money from the boosters, as well as making the payments to the players. Hall and Dye also paid an Atlanta Atty $30,000 to forward onto Gene Jelks to keep him squeeling about Pay For Players programs at Bama.
Eric Ramsey (a defensive back at AU in the early 1990s) used a tape recorder to secretly record conversations between his football coaches and Booster "Corky" Frost regarding an illicit player payment scheme. Ramsey's allegations also included racist practices at Auburn, including disapproval of inter-racial dating in the community and segregation of black and white players in the resident athletic dorm. After his tapes were revealed, on August 18, 1993, Auburn was hit with some of the most severe penalties in the history of the NCAA (at that time). These included a two-year bowl ban, a one-year television ban (for the 1993 season), and the loss of 13 scholarships spread out over a four-year period. Dye was also banned from any appearance at an Auburn function until August 1995.
Now fast forward to 2007 when Nick Saban shows up at Bama. Lowder and Co. are scared about Bama's hire and want current Coach Tommy Tuberville out, allegedly because Tubs won't "actively" participate in Pay For Player schemes which Lowder and Co. feel is necessary to compete with Bama's new hire. Also, Tubs hire of Franklin as Off Coordinator was a compete failure. Tony Franklin was the much Maligned OC hired by Tubs to install the Spread Offense. He never really had the proper personnel at skilled positions, and was later fired for lack of performance. He was most noted for his quote in the Newspapers sometime after his termination – “People would be shocked at the stuff that goes on at Auburn - it would make headlines for the National Enquirer”
In 2008 mid-season, a member of the Board of Trustees makes contact with Houston Nutt , violating the search notification clause in TTubs' Contract Renegotiation after Tubberville had found out the previous season that BOT members flew to meet with Bobby Petrino about becoming the coach at Auburn. Nutt tells Sexton (his Agent), which in turn tells Tubs who is also a Sexton Client. Tubs resigns, gets a huge settlement, leaving Au coachless. Lowder and AU continue search, which ultimately leads to the hiring of Chizik, a former Sexton client which with a 5-19 record would knowingly jump at any opportunity to enhance his resume. Chizik also was familiar with Lowder, Dye, and Co., as he previously acted as DC under Tubs, making him a perfect "puppet" for Lowder and crew to manipulate. Chizik's Recruiting Coordinator is Trooper Taylor who has always been suspected of illegal recruiting practices.

Before the actual events and behind the scene motivations of CamGate can be fully understood, one needs to comprehend the inner workings of Alabama’s political system and the players pulling the strings. The course of events leading up to the wire taps, investigations, and ultimate indictments are starting to surface and are becoming VERY VERY interesting……
1st is an Article in the Tuskegee News dated October 21st. In short, the writer suggests a lobbying/consulting group has been used by the Auburn Athletic Foundation to launder cash ultimately ending up in the hands of players/player families. Robert Geddie was a partner in the firm Fine-Geddie until his indictment and arrest in October. According to the Department of Justice, (Geddie) was nailed for allegedly working with the state’s major gambling interests to influence and/or buying votes favoring proposed gambling houses. The indictment was based primarily on wire taps of cell phone and land-line conversations with those now rumored to have facilitated the Pay For Players scheme.
Adding fuel to the fire are the ties between former Colonial Bank Chairman and BOT member Bobby Lowder (Bank of $25Billion failed earlier this year), Milton McGregor (Dog Track, Bingo, and Casino Owner), and Pat Dye (former AU Football Coach). These were the three largest shareholders of the now defunct Colonial BancGroup, a mortgage brokerage, commercial banking, and mortgage warehousing firm based in Montgomery, Al. McGregor was indicted about the same time as Geddie. Wire-taps were the backbone behind the indictments, but it has been speculated by most the FBI overheard conversations between McGergor, BOT members, Dye, and coaches talking about the Pay For Player schemes that are speculated at Auburn. What most are saying is that the FBI just stumbled into the Pay For Players scheme while gathering the voter fraud and political corruption evidence. Notice how the 1st person the FBI supposedly questioned regarding Cam and his Father was John Bond. Next, they went to Kenny Rodgers Speculation is the Feds are gathering the bits and pieces from the MSU side which can be proven or substantiated with the wire tap tapes they have between all of these AU Boosters, and then are going to the AU side corner those suspects either in perjured testimony, or extortion charges relating to this unintended evidence. Once they are able to turn the smaller players, the FBI will turn the pleas against the real targets. Think about it for a minute. The FBI could care less about college football unless it involves organized gambling or extortion. They are after evidence of Voter Influence, mis-appropriation of Bank Funds, extortion, and embezzlement.
Remember TMZ’s report earlier and why the FBI was involved in the 1st place. They implied that the FBI is more interested in efforts to shop players around, not just a single player (extortion). This was again confirmed Friday, November 12th when John Bond stated the reason for the FBI’s questioning was that "They don't want people selling kids to colleges." One editorial out of Mobile included this little gem the other day - With Milton McGregor involved in this as an Auburn booster watch out. The FBI has listened to every phone conversation from his office in the past year. He is the dirtiest multi-millionaire in Alabama. They say there were Payoffs with Poker Chips to Auburn players, Colonial Bank ATM Cards handed out, and guaranteed winnings at McGregor’s casinos for Auburn players and recruits. This thing now goes way beyond Pay For Player schemes, and it appears the FED’s goal is to build the ultimate case against Bobby Lowder. Here is what is being said about Lowder’s tie in to all of this.

This goes way beyond Cam. They say the FBI, while monitoring the Bingo mess in Montgomery and also investigating the misappropriation of TARP funds by Colonial Bank, uncovered many, many things. Such things include guaranteed winning slot machines for AU players at Milt’s (Colonial Board member, AU Booster) Casino, unmarked ATM cards issued to AU players from Colonial Bank (Bobby Lowder-AU Board Member and Booster; Pat Dye-Colonial Board member, AU employee and Booster), forgiven loans to families, friends, donors, etc. If true, big time jail time, loss of SACS accreditation which means expulsion from the SEC, huge financial implications for AU, removal of Dye’s name from the field and so on.
“The Feds have tape from wire taps made on McGregor and other prominent Auburn boosters from their investigation. The Newton's were just shopping their talent's to the wrong people at the wrong time and thus there is hard evidence available that incriminates everyone involved. It's only a matter of time that all of this information becomes public.
FBI found out about Cam before the NCAA did while wiretapping Milton McGregor and others related to the casino/bingo indictments. The allegation is that Milton McGregor was the money man for Auburn. It would be real convenient and easy to launder money and hide it with an operation like Victoryland Casino that handles huge amounts of cash on a daily basis. The FBI uncovered conversations with McGregor, Auburn and Cam's uncle in Michigan. McGregor paid $250K to the uncle through a PAC and other hidden entities and the uncle funneled the money to Cecil.
The FBI gave this information to the NCAA sometime after the indictments were handed down. They had to sit on the information for 6 months until the grand jury indicted the men and women in the gambling deal. All of the wiretap information was sealed and that is why the delay in investigating. The NCAA had to go to Miss St to see if Cecil had solicited money from them as well. That is why Miss St is involved. They are basically connecting all of the dots. Miss St may be cleared because they told Cecil no. He then went to Auburn. The offer was on the table from McGregor but Cam wanted to play at Miss St and not Auburn. When Miss St declined to pay him, he went to where the money was... hence the comment by Cam Newton, "The money was too much."

Recruiting--Now, let's take a look and see why the sudden interest in Auburn by Recruits?

Coach Chiz (with a 5-19 record at his previous school) was hired December 13th, 2008. Auburn’s Class consisted of 28 players being signed, ranked 25th in the Country (LSU #1, Bama #2, Fla. #5, UGA #6, USCe #12, UTenn, #15, ARKY. #20, Ole Miss #22, Miss. St. #23). AU’s top rated player that year was DeAngelo Benton, a highly sought after, but academically troubling player from La. that had originally committed to LSU. Production thus far in his career is just 7 receptions for only 103 yards.
The 2010 Class, built primarily on the efforts of Trooper Taylor (as per AU Football Media Propaganda), miraculously lands the #1 players from Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, as well as the #1 JUCO signee in Cam Newton. Why the turnaround, when their previous season only netted a 7-5 regular season record (3-5 SEC), along with an overtime win against Northwestern on New Years Day.
Recruit Trevon Reed is a solid commitment to LSU until very late in the process when he abruptly changes his mind to Auburn, against the better judgment of his high school coach. Similar waffling is also experienced with recruits Michael Dyer, Shon Coleman, and Others. It has been mentioned there exists a recorded conversation between Trooper Taylor and McGregor discussing the progress in wrapping up this class. To paraphrase, ”… just one more deal to cut and it’s all done. Then there’s a mention of needing $200K to close it out.”
Also, in 2010 Cecil Newton’s Church suddenly “Rises from the Dead” (no pun intended) and is no longer involved in condemnation proceedings with Local Authorities over repairs that need to be made to the church building. During this time, the Church managed by Newton was in financial trouble and facing eviction but suddenly had enough cash to do extensive renovations to meet building codes. Also, Newton's father owned a small trucking company with two drivers. After Newton signed with Auburn, they were suddenly flushed with so many contracts that 12 drivers were hired. Chris Low, Pat Forde, and Others at ESPN, comment on how Newton’s Church and home are meager, but he drives up for the interview in a $60,000 truck less than a year old.

The Auburn Timeline:

• Before 2009 Egg Bowl, Ken Rodgers talked with Cecil, who said "It's not gonna be free this time."

• Nov 29th, 2009 Ken leaves Bill Bell a voicemail asking if the deal is going to get done

• Bell was contacted by Cecil Newton asking for money

• Bell calls Bond and urges Bond to tell MSU officials.

• Bond calls MSU Athletic Director Byrne

• Dec 14th, 2009 Cam pushes committing back to Dec 22nd, 2009

• Dec 20th, 2009 Cam visits Auburn, Dad was not there

• Dec 31st , 2009 Cam commits to Auburn

*Nov 12th, 2010 Cecil Newton admits to asking for money from MSU in exchange for Cam to play there.

• Nov 12th, ESPN reports that a source stated that he was contacted by an emotional Cam Newton stating his regret that he would not be playing for MSU, as his father had chosen Auburn because "the money was too much".

• Nov 13th, Despite all of the above evidence, Auburn Still Plays Newton---This also explains why the AU President wanted to sit Cam last Saturday, but was overridden by Lowder, Dye, McGregor, and other BOT members.

THE NOW INFAMOUS W&L
W&L is a guy according to those in the know who is a fairly influential religious figure in Alabama. He works with athletes at the high school and collegiate level. In CyberSpace, he’s a long-Time member of Bama OnLine and is evidently very well connected within the Bama Athletic Machine. Rarely does he post, but when he does most take it to the bank. Evidently W&L was way ahead of the Jones/Ingram Fishing Saga, the Nick Saban Hiring, and most recently the Marcel Dareus Suspension at Alabama. W&L posted this comment earlier in the week.

" Unlike Aubs and Gadsden, and (insert recruit X here) being sold to Bama, this tale of cheating is factual and fatal. I cannot nor will I say anything other than this. Auburn is going on probation for a very long time. enjoy playing cam yesterday to keep Bama from Atlanta. enjoy playing cam so that you could give your fans a send off to Atlanta. enjoy watching a player who gave your program the finger kneel at the goalpost so your "family" could be fooled again. He and his family could care less about you.
Save it.....repeat it..put in on the bunker.........mark my word and my reputation (which means nothing at all in the true sense of the word after all..this is an internet board for goodness sake) You are about to be publically humiliated and punished harder than any College Football team in history..except SMU.
Cam will be stricken from your record books. All wins, championships, and records will be gone. You will spend a decade at the BOTTOM of the SEC West, and financial hits will devastate your entire school (note..not the AD alone). You will reinforce your reputation as the most corrupt college program in history. You will be forced to change the name of your "field". You will lose to Alabama for a decade if not more. And finally, if leadership can be brought to the forefront, (and yes, this is the only prediction about which I cannot put forth what I consider strong evidence), you will be kicked out of the Southeastern Conference in a unanimous vote.
Enjoy this limited run. And Will Collier..yes I know you will read this post...Hell is REALLY coming to burn your program to the ground. Go ahead and get your "conspiracy theories" ready..go ahead and try to figure out how you can claim championships that were rightfully stipped from you..go ahead and focus on how you will bring down Alabama, your singular obsession in life. Your hell continues this week..........we here plan to enjoy your pain.

Remember EVERYONE has now lawyered up, and remember the change of heart from "He’s clean!" to the “No Comment” response. Here’s what is being said by those in the “know"……… Auburn did not suspend Cam because the NCAA didn’t tell them to. They let Auburn make the decision and then after the fact that Auburn let him play, the NCAA will hammer them for doing something "they should not have done" Right now All Auburn cares about is beating Bama, winning the SEC, getting Cam the Heisman, playing and perhaps winning the Nat Championship, and marketing the hell out of their success..and deal with the NCAA later. And for those wondering why people thought Cam wouldn't play... it's because the president, the compliance dept and a couple of coaches all wanted to sit Cam. THAT is why so many people were sure Cam would sit. They knew what these guys were saying. HOWEVER, the AD, boosters and the rest of the coaches wanted to play him. It's clear the president and the compliance dept weren't being listened to.

Here’s what they say the FBI has on tape and can prove AU did:

• The people above are on tape explaining who they paid and how they did it.

Absolutely agree with that. Does bring some very interesting points into light, why would some of the most sought after college recruits suddenly decide to play for a school who brought in a coach with a record of 5-19. I dont completely agree with all the observations made in this but the pieces do seem to find for the most.

If you fall apart in crisis, then there wasn't much to you to start with

Here's the link, since it will likely be updated if/when the FBI releases more information into the Lowder/Colonial Bank investigation. I know this: when 60+ year-old men are faced with 10 to 15-year federal prison terms, they tend to start rolling over on each other.http://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/m...asp?p=22778676

You are all posting unnamed sources who are clearly jealous of the success of the Auburn Tigers. Cam knew nothing and just because Cecil was trying to get money from Miss St doesn't mean he continued to try to get money after they rebuffed him. Just because Auburn has a long and storied tradition of paying players and this player was seeking such a payment(allegedly) doesn't mean a payment was made. The SEC and NCAA has cleared him and that means he is totally vindicated because they are pillars of integrity. Herbstreit and ESPN agree with me that Cam is completely innocent of any wrong doing and said so on the BCS countdown show. Oh and I have been doing a lot of this lately.

The SEC and NCAA has cleared him and that means he is totally vindicated because they are pillars of integrity. Herbstreit and ESPN agree with me that Cam is completely innocent of any wrong doing and said so on the BCS countdown show.

If he wasn't playing there then he would be playing for some other half-ass team and putting up great numbers with a 6-6 record.

The teams that try to play the integrity game are not sitting at the bottom of the heap because they are playing the integrity game. They are at the bottom because they would also slide funds or privileges over if they could so afford it. I.E. many cannot afford it and if they could, what would it help?

A team sitting at number 80 in the nation isn't going to help themselves with one or two undefeated or decent seasons anyway so why would they pay if they could?

I always laugh when people say that Alabama paid Julio to play there...I say, ok? So, if he wasn't playing for Alabama then he would just be playing for some other college team...he has to play somewhere, correct? Do people honestly think that Julio Jones would have said, hey, if you cannot give me extra benefits then I am going to play for Troy State? the fvuk outta here.

OutTkast, since the inception, i've talked to several people from the compliance department at least once a week and I heard maybe one person say something about sitting Cam despite what anyone may have heard or what is written or what some alumni/insider may have stated. I know this as fact(first person perspective), not propaganda or hearsay.

The coaches, contrary to popular belief, do not know a damn thing about anything. They are only "listeners" taking in 2nd hand information but they are the ones we see on TV everyday talking about it so some John boy thinks the coaches know what they are talking about. They only know what they are informed about.

As far as the AU president, can we say loony tunes. Bytch knows nothing at all, Jay? LOL, a joke at best. If you have ever had a conversation with him, you come away feeling like Ailbert Einstein. You need to go through his background and see how he got some of his "titles' at other places.

Giving “slot machine cards” to the players, which now involves the
Alabama Gaming Commission.

Coach Chizik knows none of this and has been lied to by Jacobs.

I'll give you this, both of these are 100% fact because for one, I know a few people that have "won" some healthy yet strange sums from Victory Land...and they were closely associated with "people of interest"

And, the other statement simply because Chizik is a **** head idiot and has a hard time telling the difference between oatmeal and corn flakes.

Let me end by saying, yes, he took money or his dad did and AU paid but it is a bit simpler than what you have posted above. People close at hand know the road and how it has turned...

There is a ton of shyt that goes on at the schools here in Ala just as in many othe states. I can tell you about a prominent player from one of our schools, right now, that had prostitutes hired, BY THE BOOSTERS, for him, in order to get him to come to the school and the kid is in HS....so yeah, lots of trashy, shameful shyt happens here...but I won't discuss it.

Let me end by saying, yes, he took money or his dad did and AU paid but it is a bit simpler than what you have posted above. People close at hand know the road and how it has turned...

There is a ton of shyt that goes on at the schools here in Ala just as in many othe states. I can tell you about a prominent player from one of our schools, right now, that had prostitutes hired, BY THE BOOSTERS, for him, in order to get him to come to the school and the kid is in HS....so yeah, lots of trashy, shameful shyt happens here...but I won't discuss it.

Couldnt agree more. A good buddy of mine was a high ranking D1 LB prospect in the early 90's. Went on a visit down south, and was riddled with prostitutes. Was not evena request, just given to lure him in.

You are also right, and as a ND fan I can attest, that once you try to play the integrity game you stnad no shot. Why does anyone think that Urban Meyer went to Florida instead of ND all those years ago?

You know what's crazy.. Auburn's recruiting classes haven't been to exciting the past 10 years. Top 20, but nothing exciting. Alabama has been been top 5 since Saban arrived. If Auburn was giving me hundreds of thousands of dollars to play but Alabama wasn't.. would I be going to Alabama or Auburn? hmmm. I guess Julio and Dre Kirkpatrick just have to high of morals for that. (laugh)

Can you guys tell me why TN & Oklahoma have both came public saying noone approached them? Can you tell me why Lattimore decided to goto South Carolina if he could of got so much more money to goto Auburn? Can you tell me why his mother said she never heard anything of this? But you guys want to pull out pictures of a 2 star DE holding money in his hand and say we paid him, but we wouldn't pay Lattimore? hmm. I can tell you why Auburn didn't pay Cam. Because KENNY ROGERS is associated with MISS ST. He has NO TIES WITH AUBURN. He has been the only person who has been braught up regarding money deals. As is obvious though, you guys all have more information regarding this situation than the NCAA and SEC, so I'll just take your word for it.

Hey OutKast.. do me a favor. Call The Paul Finebaum show tommorow and tell him about all the stuff you've listed in this article. He is good friends with McGregor and I'm sure he would be happy to hear how you heard all this before him. .. Really I just want him to laugh in your face, but still. And btw, Paul is a Bammer.

And... if you want to explain Auburns poor recruiting class the first year.. Umm What do you think happens in a coaching change?
About the Arkansas thing -- Kodi Burns / Lee Ziemba? Auburn has always recruited Arkansas well. Honestly a terrible post. Did not deserve its own thread. You might "impress" people who know nothing of the program and know nothing about things that occur in this state by blowing there mind with a load of garbage, but FACTS are something you are seriously lacking.

I don't know what was said in the last two posts... but there's a 100% chance it was pugnacious and juvenile. Since this thread is no longer douche bag-free... I'll be unsubscribing now. Good night and good luck.

Hey OutKast.. do me a favor. Call The Paul Finebaum show tommorow and tell him about all the stuff you've listed in this article. He is good friends with McGregor and I'm sure he would be happy to hear how you heard all this before him. .. Really I just want him to laugh in your face, but still. And btw, Paul is a Bammer.

And... if you want to explain Auburns poor recruiting class the first year.. Umm What do you think happens in a coaching change?
About the Arkansas thing -- Kodi Burns / Lee Ziemba? Auburn has always recruited Arkansas well. Honestly a terrible post. Did not deserve its own thread. You might "impress" people who know nothing of the program and know nothing about things that occur in this state by blowing there mind with a load of garbage, but FACTS are something you are seriously lacking.

So he can laugh in my face? I never said the ideas presented in the post were mine or even what I believed to be true in there entirety. Notice above where it says to much smoke for at least some of it to be true. Yes I think its interesting how some of it ties together. Since your so high and mighty and apparently run the Auburn program being able to decide fact from fiction why to you post the necessary corrections and I'll change them to please your point of view. (sarcasm in-case your not intelligent pick up on it, but I'm sure you have because obviously nothing gets past you)

If you fall apart in crisis, then there wasn't much to you to start with

I just think it's funny that everyone posts all of these "ideas" like they know more than the NCAA and SEC. I had never once heard about the casino thing with the Auburn players. The only casino scanadals have been with politicians such as the idiotic mayor of Birmingham. Don't get me wrong, this state is corrupt. But if Auburns players were really running to the casino weekly to get money, it'd be pretty obvious. Kids have too big of mouths for that not to get out.

No comments about Alabama having top recruiting classes every year but the current #25 recruiting class paying all of it's players? Or the rest of my post for that matter.

I like argument, I have just seen way too many conspiracy theories and they seem to be getting more and more ridiculous.

NCAA president Mark Emmert, speaking Wednesday at the IMG Intercollegiate Athletics Forum in New York City, again defended the decision to allow Auburn quarterback Cam Newton to retain his eligibility.

"The burden of proof that we have to rely on before we make a decision that affects a university, a young man, a program, or a young woman in a program, is obviously greater than someone who writes in a blog or somebody who has heard a rumor or has a story," Emmert said.

"That decision understandably causes people some angst and stretches credibility when you say, 'Gee, there wasn't any knowledge at the institution or with the individual. It's all been in the media.' But those, in fact, are the facts as we know them. We have to deal with those facts. And I'm actually pleased with the way our people handled it and pleased with the process."

I just think it's funny that everyone posts all of these "ideas" like they know more than the NCAA and SEC. I had never once heard about the casino thing with the Auburn players. The only casino scanadals have been with politicians such as the idiotic mayor of Birmingham. Don't get me wrong, this state is corrupt. But if Auburns players were really running to the casino weekly to get money, it'd be pretty obvious. Kids have too big of mouths for that not to get out.

No comments about Alabama having top recruiting classes every year but the current #25 recruiting class paying all of it's players? Or the rest of my post for that matter.

I like argument, I have just seen way too many conspiracy theories and they seem to be getting more and more ridiculous.

I dont think that anyone makes the assumption that Auburn would be the first program in D1 to ever pay someone. Hell....I think most programs are giving "incentives" to the 5 star recruits. To assume otherwise is downright naive imo

Did you actually read that article? Much of it is about how the rest of college football disagrees with the decision. Open up your eyes numbnuts that ruling is in no way an exoneration merely an exploitation of the rules. The ruling is a potentially disastrous precedent going forward, you should be proud.

"A number of prominent college sports administrators spoke out about the decision. Jim Delany, the commissioner of the Big Ten and a former NCAA investigator, told The New York Times that the NCAA "missed an opportunity to stand up."

"What I would say on any third-party issue is that the analysis in my view, whether you're an assistant coach, president or a booster or a parent, is that there ought to be accountability," Delany told The Times. "There ought to be consequences."

"Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott told The Times his office had heard from a number of schools concerned with the decision."

"Late Wednesday, USC athletic director Pat Haden told The Los Angeles Times that he was surprised by the NCAA's ruling on Newton."
"USC was hit with sanctions this past summer in the wake of the Reggie Bush investigation."

"In the Reggie Bush case, when the parent [did] something inappropriate the kid and the school suffered," Haden told The Times."

"I was always told the parent is the child. That's what we've been telling our kids," Haden said to the paper. "If the parent does something inappropriate the child suffers the consequences."

But the main point of the article is that these people are BIASED. The NCAA IS NOT.

NCAA president Mark Emmert, speaking Wednesday at the IMG Intercollegiate Athletics Forum in New York City, again defended the decision to allow Auburn quarterback Cam Newton to retain his eligibility.

"The burden of proof that we have to rely on before we make a decision that affects a university, a young man, a program, or a young woman in a program, is obviously greater than someone who writes in a blog or somebody who has heard a rumor or has a story," Emmert said.

"That decision understandably causes people some angst and stretches credibility when you say, 'Gee, there wasn't any knowledge at the institution or with the individual. It's all been in the media.' But those, in fact, are the facts as we know them. We have to deal with those facts. And I'm actually pleased with the way our people handled it and pleased with the process."

These quotes are EXACTLY what I've been pushing all along. I would leave it to buckyboy to try to pull something negative out of anything. The NCAA president stated that USC's opinion on the matter was garbage and then you post 5 quotes from from him.. hmmm... poor bucko.

I dont think that anyone makes the assumption that Auburn would be the first program in D1 to ever pay someone. Hell....I think most programs are giving "incentives" to the 5 star recruits. To assume otherwise is downright naive imo

Oh, they do. If they dont they are the biggest hipocrits known to man. So take your poison.

The point of the article is that the NCAA knows MORE ABOUT THIS CASE than any blogger/PAC 10 commisioner or idiot on this forum. If they come out saying he is good to play then it should be a sign. Especially since he's repeatedly stood by his word. How much of a PR nightmare would it be if this all came out that Cam/Auburn really did do things wrong and the NCAA president has to explain how he was so sure about his decision on this situation but now is wrong? I'm sure the NCAA president is a tad bit more intelligent than the people on this forum to do something that dumb.

So you're saying that everyone wants to brag how Auburn is one the most penalized teams in college football history but now the NCAA is biased towards them? Please explain.

You assertion that NCAA is in anyway non-biased is ridiculous. They have a strong bias toward certain schools, and most of all they have a bias toward ratings and money.

You don't find it ironic that Reggie Bush's investigation went on 5 years, and somehow, someway they could wrap up Cam's investigation in what, less than 5 weeks... just in time for championship season?